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RZ-1 A-Wing Interceptor
The RZ-1 A-wing interceptor was a starfighter designed by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. One of the fastest mass-produced interceptors in the known galaxy, the A-wing was even faster than the TIE Interceptor. Characteristics Simply put, the A-wing was a cockpit attached to twin engines. Like its Clone Wars predecessor, the Eta-2, the A-wing required pilots' exceptional skill to take full advantage of the vessel's speed, agility, and special features—and the Alliance lacked the Galactic Republic's Jedi pilots. The A-wing's Event Horizon engines remained some of the most powerful sublight thrusters two decades past the A-wing's creation and were linked to highly sensitive controls. The vessels presented a number of challenges to pilots. Pilots had to adjust two dorsal and two ventral stabilizer wings with great care, as even a minor turn could send the speedy A-wing into a massive spinout. The slight A-wing's wing-mounted laser cannons could rotate up and down sixty degrees for greater fire control. Some of those designs even had their guns modified to swivel in a complete 360-degree arc, thus providing a nasty surprise to any chasing fighter. While a tactical boon, the A-wing had no astromech droid to manage its weapons systems, requiring further attention from the pilot. The combination of sensitive controls, unmatched sublight thrust, maneuverable weapon systems, advanced sensory and stealth packages, fragility, and heavily exposed cockpit strained even the best pilot. A-wings earned the nickname "slims" for their small frame made of carbo-plas, but also for the "slim" chance of a pilot surviving a direct hit on the ship after the shields were down, and the cramped cockpit that prevented larger pilots from flying the A-wing. History Development The beginning of the A-wing resides in General Jan Dodonna's post-battle analysis of the Battle of Yavin. The value of Alliance starfighters were undeniable in the battle—but Dodonna was concerned that a simple trio of TIE starfighters had almost foiled the trench run. Knowing that the Imperial Navy was conducting similar analyses and would come to the same conclusions, Dodonna set about planning the creation of a dedicated Alliance interceptor. His prediction was perceptive, as Sienar Fleet Systems engineers accelerated work on and updated the TIE Interceptor, an Imperial fighter to match the A-wing in speed. To design the starfighter, Dodonna turned to Walex Blissex, famed ex-Kuat Systems Engineering engineer. Blissex had valuable experience from his work on the Clone Wars-era Delta-7 and Alpha-3 interceptors, and the two set about drawing up designs. Basing their initial designs around R-22 Spearheads (probably already nicknamed by pilots as "A-wings", consistently to the -wing names of other Rebel craft), two of which had participated in the battle, the two men drafted a proposal and presented it to Chief of State Mon Mothma. Dodonna and Blissex's timing was not well-chosen; while the victory at Yavin had jolted thousands of worlds into rebellion, it had brought down Emperor Palpatine's wrath and scattered the Alliance. As such, funding was tight, and the A-wing program presented a major investment for the credit-strapped Alliance. Nevertheless, Dodonna's fame from his role in the Yavin victory made a denial difficult, and Mothma approved a reduced amount of funding. To fit within their reduced budget, Dodonna and Blissex made substantial modifications to the original design. Blissex redrafted his component list to use components readily available within the Ordnance and Supply Command and pushed each piece of the A-wing past original factory performance. The earliest A-wings were manufactured across Alliance facilities like Cardooine and Chardaan Shipyards. Each starfighter was hand-assembled, resulting in a slow production rate and a number of interesting modifications. The combination of hand assembly, use of second-hand components, the number of complex systems packed into the starfighter's small frame, and a general lack of quality control made A-wings notorious for their high maintenance to flight ratio—the second worst in the Alliance fleet in 3 ABY. As a result, the Alliance was able to field few full squadrons of A-wings. Only a handful of crack units, like Nomad Squadron or Pash Cracken's wing, were maintained across Alliance forces. Foot Note This Ship is used within a RESOLUTION Plots and is so part of the RSNverse of Star Wars lore. Category:Alliance Starships